Before the arrival of talkies, several silent films were closely related to Gujarati culture. Many film directors, producers and actors associated with silent films were Gujarati and Parsi. Twenty leading film company and studios were owned by Gujaratis between 1913 and 1931. They were mostly located in Mumbai. At least forty-four major Gujarati directors worked during this period.^[239]

Gujarati cinema dates to 9 April 1932, when the first Gujarati film, Narsinh Mehta, was released.^{[239][240][241]Gujarati cinema dates to 9 April 1932, when the first Gujarati film, Narsinh Mehta, was released.[239][240][241] Liludi Dharti (1968) was the first colour Gujarati film.[242] After flourishing through the 1960s to 1980s, the industry declined although it later revived. More than one thousand films were released.[243]}

Gujarati cinema ranges from mythology to history and from social to political. Gujarati films originally targeted a rural audience, but after its revival catered to an urban audience.^[239]

The Hindi language film industry of Bombay—also known as^[245] Bollywood—is the largest and most powerful branch.^[246] Hindi cinema explored issues of caste and culture in films such as Achhut Kanya (1936) and Sujata (1959).^[247] International visibility came to the industry with Raj Kapoor's Awara and later in Shakti Samantha's Aradhana.^[248] Hindi cinema grew during the 1990s with the release of as many as 215 films annually.

Many actors signed contracts for simultaneous work in 3–4 films.^[16] Institutions such as the Industrial Development Bank of India financed Hindi films.^[16] Magazines such as Filmfare, Stardust and Cine Blitz became popular.^[249]

In Hindi cinema audiences participate by clapping, singing and reciting familiar dialogue.^[250]

Art film directors include Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal,^[70] Mira Nair, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sudhir Mishra and [16] Institutions such as the Industrial Development Bank of India financed Hindi films.^[16] Magazines such as Filmfare, Stardust and Cine Blitz became popular.^[249]

In Hindi cinema audiences participate by clapping, singing and reciting familiar dialogue.^[250]

Art film directors include Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal,^[70] Mira Nair, Nagesh Kukunoor, Sudhir Mishra and Nandita Das.

The Kannada film industry, also referred to as Sandalwood, is based in Bangalore and caters mostly to Karnataka. Gubbi Veeranna (1891 – 1972) was an Indian theatre director and artist and an awardee of the Padma Shri award conferred by the President of India. He was one of the pioneers and most prolific contributors to Kannada theatre. Kannada actor Rajkumar began working with Veeranna and later became an important actor.

Veeranna founded Karnataka Gubbi Productions. He produced Sadarame (1935, Raja Chandrasekar), in which he acted in the lead role. He then produced Subhadra and Jeevana Nataka (1942). He took the lead role in Hemareddy Mallamma (1945). Karnataka Gubbi Productions was later called Karnataka Films Ltd., and is credited with starting the career of Rajkumar when it offered him the lead role in his debut film Bedara Kannappa. He produced silent movies including His Love Affair, (Raphel Algoet). Veeranna was the lead, accompanied by his wife, Jayamma.

Veeranna produced Bedara Kannappa (1954, H. L. N. Simha) which received the first Certificate of Merit. However, the first "President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Kannada" was awarded at the 5th National Film Awards ceremony to Premada Puthri (1957, R. Nagendra Rao). Rajkumar was the legendary actor along with Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Anant Nag, Shankar Nag, Prabhakar, Udaya Kumar, Subhadra and Jeevana Nataka (1942). He took the lead role in Hemareddy Mallamma (1945). Karnataka Gubbi Productions was later called Karnataka Films Ltd., and is credited with starting the career of Rajkumar when it offered him the lead role in his debut film Bedara Kannappa. He produced silent movies including His Love Affair, (Raphel Algoet). Veeranna was the lead, accompanied by his wife, Jayamma.

Veeranna produced Bedara Kannappa (1954, H. L. N. Simha) which received the first Certificate of Merit. However, the first "President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Kannada" was awarded at the 5th National Film Awards ceremony to Premada Puthri (1957, R. Nagendra Rao). Rajkumar was the legendary actor along with Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Anant Nag, Shankar Nag, Prabhakar, Udaya Kumar, Kalyan Kumar, Gangadhar, Leelavathi, Kalpana, Bharathi, Jayanthi, Pandari Bai, Aarathi, Jaimala, Tara, Umashri , Ravichandran, Shivarajkumar, Shashikumar, Ramesh Arvind, Devaraj, Jaggesh, Saikumar, Vinodraj, Charanraj, Ramkumar, Sudeep, Darshan, Puneeth Rajkumar, Yash, and Ramya.

Kannada Directors include H. L. N. Simha, R. Nagendra Rao, B. R. Panthulu, M. S. Sathyu, Puttanna Kanagal, G. V. Iyer, Karnad, T. S. Nagabharana Siddalingaiah, B. V. Karanth, A K Pattabhi, T. V. Singh Thakur, Y. R. Swamy, M. R. Vittal, Sundar Rao Nadkarni, P. S. Moorthy, S. K. A. Chari, Hunsur Krishnamurthy, Prema Karanth, Rajendra Singh Babu, N. Lakshminarayan, Shankar Nag, Girish Kasaravalli, Umesh Kulkarni and Suresh Heblikar. Other noted film personalities in Kannada are, Bhargava, G.K. Venkatesh, Vijaya Bhaskar, Rajan-Nagendra, Geethapriya, Hamsalekha, R. N. Jayagopal, M. Ranga Rao and Yogaraj Bhat.